Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! I am Guthrie Chamberlain, and we are on Day 2682 of our Trek. The Purpose of Wisdom-Trek is to create a legacy of wisdom, to seek out discernment and insights, and to boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before.
Today’s Wisdom Nugget is titled: Testing the Almighty – The Cost of Ungrateful Hearts - A Trek Through Psalm 78:17-31
Today, we continue our crucial and comprehensive trek through Psalm 78 in the New Living Translation, encompassing verses 17 through 31.
In our last conversation, we began Asaph’s solemn history lesson for future generations. We saw the painful example of the Ephraimites' failure in battle due to their unfaithfulness, their refusal to keep God’s covenant, and their tragic forgetfulness of God’s glorious deeds. Then, Asaph immediately reminded us of those very deeds: God’s astounding miracles in Egypt, His splitting of the Red Sea, His constant guidance by cloud and fire, and His miraculous provision of water from solid rock in the wilderness (Psalm 78:9-16). The contrast was stark: human rebellion against divine faithfulness.
Now, as we move into this next section, the story continues, detailing a new, disturbing chapter in Israel's journey: their persistent rebellion and direct testing of God, even in the face of His overwhelming provision. It reveals the devastating consequences of demanding hearts that question God's power and generosity, demonstrating that God provides, but also justly judges ungrateful unbelief.
So, let’s lean in and absorb the sobering lessons of Israel’s continued rebellion and God’s mighty, yet sometimes punitive, response.
(Reads Psalm 78:17-20 NLT)
But they continued to sin against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert. They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved. They even spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness? Yes, he hit the rock, and water gushed out, and streams flowed like rivers! But can he also give us bread? Can he supply meat for his people?”
Guthrie Chamberlain: Despite the astonishing miracles of water from the rock, the constant guidance by cloud and fire, and the fresh memory of Red Sea deliverance, Asaph immediately reveals Israel’s shocking reversion to rebellion: "But they continued to sin against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert." The word "continued" (yâsaph) emphasizes the persistent, habitual nature of their sin. They weren't just making a one-time mistake; this was a pattern of defiance. They rebelled "against the Most High" – El Elyon, emphasizing God's supreme authority and transcendence. This rebellion occurred "in the desert," a place of utter dependence on God, making their unfaithfulness even more grievous.
Their rebellion manifested as a direct, stubborn challenge to God’s power: "They stubbornly tested God in their hearts, demanding the foods they craved." To "test...
